Changing Computer Systems

"So are you excited about the change?"  The older man asked me.

"Well, not exactly," I said.

"Is it going to be better than what you have now?"  He asked quizzically.

"That's what they keep telling me,"  I replied.  "It's just that I'm used to the computer system that we have now and even if it isn't perfect, I guess I'm just comfortable with its faults."

I've never been a big fan of change.  I usually have toast for breakfast with peach jelly, unless I decide to change things up with blackberry jelly instead.  For seven years during my Medical School and Residency I had Raisin Bran (always Post, never Kellogg's) every morning for breakfast.  Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic may not have stopped it from sinking, but it isn't likely to help my living room either.  I tend to keep the same routine and it doesn't bother me at all.

Those are relatively unimportant things, but there comes a time when we need change in order to achieve something better.

There is always some pain when we make the decision to move from where we are to improve something in our lives.

Change is necessary in many aspects of life, but it is seldom self-initiated.  Our goal must be to pro-actively decide on the areas we need to grow in occupationally or spiritually and then decide what we going to do to begin that growth.

Only then can we transition from stable mediocrity (but relative comfort) to the men and women God created us to be.  We may not like the change, but in the end we will survive and be better for it -- even the process of changing electronic health records.

Crows

The crows were shrieking from our peach tree.  I walked down into our backyard to investigate.  As I approached, a whole flock of the black birds rose from the tree.

I looked over the tree and found that there were still plenty of peaches on the tree.  Then, I noticed that the crows had not been idle.  There were multiple peaches that had gashes in them, just the size of a crow's beak.  Crows apparently don't eat a whole peach.  They just take a peck out of one and the move on to the next one.

It brought me back to earlier in the summer when I had planted a couple of rows of corn only to find the crows pulling them up by the roots and eating the grain of corn off of them.

In both situations I was angry -- angry at these birds.  My mind went to the last chapter of the book of Jonah.  There, Jonah is angry too, because a plant that had shaded him from the heat was destroyed by some insect pest.  God said to Jonah at the very of the book "You have been concerned about this plant, although you did not tend it or make it grow.  It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left hand -- and also many animals?"

I was different from Jonah, though.  He had concern for a plant that he didn't plant, merely because it was providing him shade.  I had worked hard in my garden and tending my peach tree and yet, maybe my anger at the animal pests in our garden wasn't so different from this Old Testament prophet's anger. 

My wife had some silver tape that I put up in the tree and that seemed to frighten the crows away.  In the end, we had a nice crop of peaches.  The message from the last chapter of Jonah still comes through to me.  Jonah valued something very trivial and saw the important things (the people of Nineveh) as worthless.  I don't know if he ever learned his lesson, but it is something very important for each of us to learn.

It is easy to be deluded into thinking that the things in our life are important.  Whether it is sweet corn and peaches or i phones and new cars, it is easy to focus on trivial things rather than on the things God cares about most.

God cares about people way more than he cares about the "stuff" of the Universe.  He loves them.

We should too.

The Best Meal...?

"How are you this morning?"  I asked my patient.  It was 8:30 on a Thursday morning.

"Really hungry!"  She told me.  "You know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I missed it to come and see you."

"Oh," I said.  "I'm sorry.  What do you usually eat for breakfast?  A pop tart?"  Attempting a little humor seemed in order...

I should have known better.  The older woman I was speaking with was not amused.  "A pop tart isn't breakfast!"  She told me heatedly.  "That's wrong with young people these days.  They eat stuff like that instead of real food for breakfast!"

"What do you usually eat for breakfast?"

"Well, I usually start with sausage or bacon, then I have an egg, and I usually finish up with some grits."

I happened to have a resident physician working with me.  I looked over at him.  "Do you like grits?"  I asked him.

"No sir," he replied.  "I've tried them, but I can't get past their texture."

This launched another set of comments from my patient on the subject of how good grits were and how these days you could get a variety pack at Food Lion with three different flavors in them.

As my patient gave me an earful, I thought about breakfast.  It is often touted as the most important meal of the day, though to be honest, I don't know who has actually ranked them.  Mine often consists of toast and jelly and seems to be adequate to get me through to lunch time.

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but more of a priority for me is to spend some time with God before I start my day.  I suppose I pray for a number of things, but most of all, that I could be His servant that day, serving Him as I minister to my patient's needs..

By noon, my toast and jelly are long digested (as would grits be if I ate those), but the strength I get from my time with God is still there.  It is why, even though breakfast is so important, I could skip it in a pinch, but I can't skip my time with my Heavenly Father.

Corn Smut

"Dad," Vince told me, as we were husking corn from our garden.  "Do you wish that our corn had smut on it?"

"No, Vince," I said.  "I'm really glad we don't have corn smut in our garden."

For those who don't know, there is a fungus (Ustilago maydis) that can affect corn and turn the kernels large and black.  It certainly doesn't make sweet corn look appetizing.  I'm guessing it changes the taste considerably too.

"Did you know, Dad," Vince told me.  "Corn smut is actually more nutritious than the ears of corn it is found on?"

"Really?"  I asked.  Sometimes talking to Vince is like talking to a Wikipedia article.

"Yes," Vince said, warming to his subject.  "There are farmers in Mexico who get permission from the Mexican government to infect their corn plants with smut.  They call it 'Mexican Truffles.'  I guess it sounds better than corn smut on a restaurant menu."

"Wow, it sounds tasty,"  I said, a little sarcastically I'm afraid.   "Would you like to eat some Mexican Truffles?  We could try to find some."

"No!"  Vince said.  "I would not like to eat that at all."

The concept of corn smut is interesting, the application is a different story.

Over my years of being a physician, I have met many people who thought that the idea of lifestyle modification was interesting.  I have met few who were committed to the changes needed to really eat healthily and begin a consistent exercise plan.

It is always a challenge to move from the contemplation stage to the action phase.

Even more, we have a challenge of being Christians in more than just name.  I hear people say that this world would be a better place if people just did what Jesus said and that is true.  It is a great concept, but living as a follower of Jesus doesn't happen by accident.

At the same time, we must move from the concept of Christianity to a true relationship with Jesus Christ.  We can know everything about Christianity and without that relationship and the changes that it brings to our lives, it is worthless.  Just like knowing everything about corn smut isn't much good if you never eat it.